Swappin' Sheetmetal

When Shaughn Reid dressed up his '67 Chevy Fleetside like a NASCAR race truck, he didn't expect to go slamming into a guardrail like a rookie at Bristol Motor Speedway. But that's exactly what happened one winter morning when he romped on the throttle and hit a damp patch of freeway. Like a lucky NASCAR pilot, Shaughn walked away from the accident. His pickup, on the other hand, wasn't so fortunate.

The Chevy was still driveable, but it was battered on both ends. Thanks to a race-style 180 degree spin, Shaughn had managed to crunch the right front corner and left rear side of the truck. The worst hit areas were the right front fender and the left bedside, with both bumpers also suffering substantial damage. To compound problems, Shaughn knew that the front panel of the bed had a pretty serious case of rust. In short, this Chevy needed a healthy dose of sheetmetal surgery--fast!

Fortunately, reproduction body parts are plentiful for '67-72 Chevys. In fact, all Shaughn had to do was open up a Goodmark catalog to find all the replacement parts he needed. Goodmark even had new bumpers available. While he was ordering parts, Shaughn figured it wouldn't hurt to spring for some upgrades too, so he had Goodmark send a steel cowl-induction hood along with all of the replacement sheetmetal.

While you might think that repairs of this nature are something that only a professional bodyman can handle, the fact is that every single part needing replacement was a bolt-on item. Even the bed panels on '67-72 Chevys bolt together, meaning that novice enthusiasts can usually tackle the task of removal-and-replacement. That's what Shaughn elected to do, along with the help from the employees at his shop, Streetshock. Additional assistance came from Foreign Auto Body (Gardena, California), where the inside and underside of the various panels were painted so they wouldn't have to be removed before painting the truck. Once the new body panels were bolted in place, the truck was ready for a trip to the body shop for final fit, prep work, and a paint job. But those are stories for another time and place. For now let's look at what it takes to replace the damaged parts. As you'll see in the photos and captions, it's really a pretty straightforward affair.